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A former high-level official at the Environmental Protection Agency pleaded guilty yesterday to
stealing hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars by pretending to work for the CIA.

For years, John C. Beale disappeared from the office and explained his lengthy absences by
telling his bosses he was doing top-secret work.

Beale never worked for the CIA, never had top-secret security clearance and carried on a “
pattern of deception for over 10 years,” said Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola.

Beale, 64, was charged in August with collecting nearly $900,000 in pay and bonuses for work he
avoided doing at the EPA.

Details emerged yesterday about his scheme. In a 12-year period, prosecutors said, he was away
from the office for at least 102 days under the guise of working for the CIA.

He took five personal trips to Los Angeles for what he said was a “special research project” and
charged the government $57,000 for his travel. To obtain a parking space, Beale lied to his
managers about having contracted malaria while serving in Vietnam. He never served in Vietnam,
according to the statement of offense Facciola summarized in court.

The case has attracted political attention, in part because Beale worked for the new EPA
administrator, Gina McCarthy, for part of the time he was allegedly cheating the system.

McCarthy’s defenders have said privately that she helped uncover Beale’s fraud, referred the
case to the agency’s inspector general and forced Beale to retire.

Beale is scheduled to testify next week at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
hearing.